tbe Pauktt family 



/«^-S 







.^0 



/ 



Cxi/ ^ 



From JOHN W. PAULETT, 

ASS'T. STATE SUPT. PUBLIC SCHOOLS* 
NASHVILLE. - TBNN. 



7>. 




/J c/ /'V ■ 




JOHN W. PAULETT. 






The Father of Representative Government 
in America. 



T is not the purpose of this article to set 
forth any new discovery, nor to present any 
reflections which are especially startling or 
original. 

The purpose is, to emphasize a neglected fact 
of American history; a fact attested by ancient 
records, narrated in historical works, and famihar 
to historians ; yet a fact the full significance of 
which is not generally recognized. 

On the 30th day of July, 1619, the first Leg- 
islative Assembly in America convened at James- 
town, Virginia. 

This Assembly marked the first victt)ry of pop- 
ular rights in the Western Hemisphere, and was 
in some respects, the most remarkable Assembly 
that ever convened. It was not only the beacon 
light of freedom in America, but it also exercised 
an important reflex influence on the constitution 
of England, and is entitled to be included among 
the decisive events of history. 



^ ^'^^ 

The facts connected with this important event 
have been sketched by Bancroft, Cooke, and other 
historians, but they have not taken the hold which 
they deserve upon the popular heart, and are not 
treasured, as they should be, in the memory of 
every American. 

The most graphic picture which has been 
painted of this Assembly and its members will 
be found in The Virginia Magazine of History 
for July, 1894. In this magazine is given the 
address delivered before the Virginia Historical 
Society by Hon. William Wirt Henry, to whose 
researches I am indebted for many of the facts 
narrated in this paper, and from whose graphic 
description, I have obtained permission to quote 
several extracts. 

This Assembly was not so much a victory in 
itself, as it was the reward or first fruits of a 
victory already achieved. The battle for represen- 
tative government in Virginia had been waged 
since the foundation of the Colony. The battle- 
field had been transferred from Jamestown to 
London, and the Council Chamber of the Virginia 
Company of London was the scene of the conflict. 
The victory was won, not by the sword, but by 



peaceful and manly resistance to oppression, and 
by appeal to justice and reason. 

Had it been won by force of arms, and lighted 
up by the glare of war, it would have occupied 
a more dramatic place in history, and possibly 
its incidents would have been depicted in more 
glowing colors on the imagination and memory of 
posterity ; yet its beneficial effects would, perhaps, 
have been lessened. 

This was a victory of peace, and like the vic- 
tories of peace, was far-reaching and creative in 
results, rather than resplendent in imagery. 

Clearly to understand the contest which cul- 
minated in this peaceful victory of liberty, let us 
glance briefly at the previous condition of the 
Colony. When Virginia was settled in 1607, the 
colonists brought with them the civilization, the 
customs, and the instincts of Englishmen. They 
claimed, also, by charter, the rights of English- 
men ; yet, the most valuable of these rights, the 
right of self-government, was denied them for 
twelve years. This right, however, can not long 
be withheld from any people of Anglo-Saxon blood. 
It was first won by Virginia simply for the reason 
that Virginia was the first settled colony. It 



would have been won by Massachusetts, though 
perhaps in a different form, had Massachusetts 
been first settled. But the Pilgrims did not land 
at Plymouth Rock until more than one year after 
Virginia had won the first battle of freedom in 
America, and had paved the way for according 
representative government to the future colonies 
of England. 

As soon as the colonists began to feel that 
their residence in America was permanent, they 
began to grow restive under the system of gov- 
ernment which placed them under the absolute 
control of King James I. Finding the Colony a 
source of annoyance rather than profit, James I. 
in 1609, issued a second charter, nominally yield- 
ing to the requests and petitions of the "Virginia 
Company of Adventurers," the right of self-gov- 
ernment. 

This charter transferred to the Company the 
powers which had heretofore been reserved to the 
King. The colonists hailed this charter as a tri- 
umph, and flattered themselves that they had 
secured self-government. They soon found, how- 
ever, that the powers of government were inter- 
cepted at London, and they had secured only a 
change of masters. 



The Virginia Company of London consisted 
of a treasurer, who was, ex-officioy the presiding 
officer, and who would be styled in modern organ- 
izations, "The President,"; a council, who would 
now be called a "Board of Directors"; and a 
large number of "•subscribers^'' or stockholders. 
It was this commercial company to which James 
I. granted the power to control America. 

It is needless to recite that the colonists grew 
more and more dissatisfied with a system by which 
laws for their gfovernment were made without 
their knowledge or consent, and were adminis- 
tered by a governor, a council and other officers 
who were often the agents of tyranny and oppres- 
sion. The demand for self-government first took 
the form of muttered discontent ; growing stronger 
and better organized, it assumed the bolder form 
of petition for the redress of grievances. Those 
who know the Anglo-Saxon race, know that this 
is the precursor of revolution. 

Fortunately for the colonists, they found, at this 
juncture, among the rulers placed over them by 
the London Company, a steadfast and influential 
friend, whose heart beat in sympathy with pop- 
ular rights, and who was destined in a few years 



to be the instrument for establishing representa- 
tive government in America. 

Capt. George Yardley* came to Virginia on 
the ship, " DeHverance," in 1609. "He was," 
says a distinguished writer, "a man of weahh and 
of well deserved influence." He was descended 
from a Staffordshire family, known as the "Lords 
of Yardley." One of his ancestors was a witness 
to the signature of King John to the first Magna 
Charta, June 15, 12 15. Capt. George Yardley 
was a subscriber, or stockholder in the London 
Company. He had served with distinction in Hol- 
land, in the war against Spain. A contemporary 
said of him, that he was "a soldier truly bred in 
the University of War in the Low Countries." 
He served as President of the Colonial Council 
until 16 16, about which time he was married to 
Temperance , West. In this year, Governor Sir 
Thomas Dale, departing for England in com- 
pany with John Rolfe and his wife Pocahontas, 
left Capt. Yardley as Deputy Governor. He was 
thus enabled by actual residence, and by official 
relations with the colonists, to form a just estimate 
of their needs, and a true conception of their 

*See Genealogical Notes. 



rights. His character and modes of thought made 
him the friend and supporter of popular rights at 
the time when the colonists needed a judicious 
and faithful friend. 

The storm was even then brewing among the 
commons of England which was destined in the 
next reign to deluge the island in blood, and to 
bring a king to the scaffold. The English people 
were beginning to mutter against royal preroga- 
tives, and they listened with sympathy to the com- 
plaints of the colonists. 

The Virginia Company was divided into two 
factions. The ruling party, known as the Court 
party was led by the President, or Treasurer, 
Sir Thomas Smith. This party looked upon the 
colonists as servants of the Company, employed 
to do its bidding, as entitled to no political rights, 
and as instruments to be used for the pecuniary 
benefit of the Company and its officers. It was, 
therefore, the policy of this party to govern the 
Colony by rigid regulations, and to permit the 
colonists no voice in the control of affairs. 

The continued complaints of the colonists, and 
the evident justice of their cause, had aroused the 
sympathy of the more liberal members, and had 



brought to their aid a few powerful friends who 
looked beyond the grievances of the colonists to 
the effect which the assertion of Virginia rights 
would produce on public sentiment in England. 
In addition to this the mismanagement of the 
Company's affairs by the Court party, and the 
tyranny of its agents had injured the value of the 
Company's property, had retarded and almost 
stopped immigration, and was beginning to drive 
many immigrants back to England. 

A strong party known as the Virginia party 
was formed within the London Company, at the 
head of which were Shakespeare's friend, the 
Earl of Southampton, Sir Edwin Sandys, and Mr. 
Nicolas Ferrar. 

It is not surprising that the principles and 
qualities which made Yardley beloved by the col- 
onists, made him distasteful to the President of 
the London Company, and to the Court party. 
Capt. Samuel Argall, a relative of President Smith, 
and his commercial agent, was appointed to super- 
sede "the mild and popular Yardley." This 
action was received by the colonists as a public 
calamity, and their indignation was freely ex- 
pressed. In the end, however, it was fortunate 
for their interests. 



The tyranny and rapacity of Argall soon 
became notorious, and hastened the overthrow of 
the Court party. 

Yardley repaired to London, and presented 
to the Company the condition of affairs in the 
Colony. The cause of reform was warmly espoused 
by Sir Edwin Sandys, the Earl of Southampton, 
and other leaders of the Virginia party. A severe 
conflict ensued within the Company, which was 
eagerly watched by the people of England. The 
meetings of the Company were thronged with 
visitors. The Virginia remonstrances and the de- 
bates at the sessions of the Company became 
the theme of conversation in all parts of England. 

When the matter came to a vote, the Court 
party was completely overthrown. The colonial 
policy was radically changed. Argall was recalled. 
The right of local self-government was accorded 
to Virginia. Capt. George Yardley was elected 
Governor-General of the Colony. A little later, 
Sir Thomas Smith was forced to resign with dam- 
age to his reputation, and Sir Edwin Sandys was 
elected President, or Treasurer. 

A remarkable circumstance connected with 
these proceedings is the fact that they received 



10 

the assent of the suspicious tyrant, James I. 
Gondomar, the Spanish minister, warned him : "The 
Virginia Courts are but a seminary for a seditious 
Parliament." Many contemporaneous expressions 
show that the reflex influence which this Vir- 
ginia House of Burgesses would exert upon the 
institutions of England was foreseen by the 
thinkers of that day. 

In addition to this, James was personally favor- 
able to the Court party, and disliked the leaders 
of the Virginia party. He especially detested 
Sir Edwin Sandys, and is reported to have said ; 
" Elect the devil if you will, but not Sir Edwin 
Sandys." Yet the effect of these measures so 
far escaped the microscopic vision of the cunning 
tyrant, that he not only assented to the new pol- 
icy, but even gave it a quasi approval. 

He sent for Capt. Yardley, the Governor-elect, 
received him graciously, admitted him to a lengthy 
interview, and finally as a signal mark of the 
favor of the sovereign, conferred on him the honor 
of knighthood, November 22, 1618. 

A great victory had been achieved when Sir 
George Yardley, successful in his mission, hon- 
ored by the London Company, favored by his 



11 

sovereign, and secure of the love of the colonists, 
sailed from England, January 29, 16 19, bearing 
his commission and instructions to confer on Vir- 
ginia the right of local self-government. 

After reaching Jamestown, he entered upon 
the duties of his office as Governor-General, April 
19, 1619. 

"From the moment of Yardley's arrival," says 
Bancroft, "dates the real life of the Colony. He 
made proclamation 'that those cruell lawes, by 
which the ancient planters had been soe longe gov- 
erned, were now abrogated, and that they were 
to be governed by those free lawes, which his 
majesties subjectes lived under in Englande.' Nor 
were these concessions left dependent on the 
good will of administrative officers. 'That the 
planters might have a hande in the governinge of 
themselves, yt was graunted that a Generall Assem- 
bhe shoulde be held yearly once, whereat were to 
be present the Governor and Counsell, with two 
Burgesses from each plantation, freely to be elect- 
ed by the inhabitantes thereof, this Assemblie to 
have power to make and ordaine whatsoever 
lawes and orders shoulde by them be thought 
good and proffitable for their subsistence ;' " 



12 

Early in June, Sir George Yardley " sente his 
summons all over the country, as well to invite 
those of the Counsell of Estate that were absente, 
as also for the election of the Burgesses." 

Then came the first general election. Let us 
picture in imagination the pride and pleasure with 
which our ancestors assembled in their respective 
precincts to elect their first representatives. 
There were some old English prejudices, but no 
organized parties. Possibly, there may have been 
some artful dodging of issues, but this had not 
been reduced to the science of a party platform- 
There were no political bosses, no election ma- 
chinery, no ballot boxes. Proud of the exercise 
of the elective franchise, the colonists voted, as 
freemen should be proud to vote, viva voce. 

From each of the eleven boroughs, or hun- 
dreds, or plantations, two delegates, called Bur- 
gesses, were elected. These names should live 
in the history of all Americans, for this Assembly 
represented all of the English race then in Amer- 
ica. I quote their names from the lists given by 
Mr. Henry, as follows : 

For James City : Captain William Powell, and 
Ensign Wm. Spence. 



13 

For Charles City: Samuel Sharp, and Sam- 
uel Jordan. 

For the City of Henricus, (Dutch Gap): 
Thomas Dowse and John Polentine. 

For Kiccowtan, (Hampton): Capt. William 
Tucker, and William Capp. 

For Smythe's Hundred : Capt. Thomas Graves, 
and Walter Shelley. 

For Martin's Hundred: John Boys and John 
Jackson. 

For Argall's Guifte : Capt. Thomas Pawlett, and 
Mr. Gourg-aing. 

For Flouerdieu Hundred: Ensign Rosingham, 
and Mr. Jefferson. 

For Lawn's Plantation, (Isle of Wight): Capt. 
Christopher Lawne and Ensign Washer. 

For Ward's Plantation: Capt. Warde, and 
Lieut. Gibbs. 

For Martin's Plantation: Thos. Davis and 
Robert Stacey. 

Many of these names will be recognized as 
household words. Among them, many deserve 
comment, but the limits of this paper will permit 
mention of only one. 

The name of Capt. Thomas Pawlett is con- 



14 

spicuous in Virginia history. He was a brother 
of Robert Paulett, who was appointed one of the 
Councillors of Virginia, but declined the office, and 
also of Lord John Powlett. The name was spelled 
in three different ways, and the three brothers 
seemed to have adopted three different modes of 
spelling it. In 1623, Capt. Thomas Pawlett re- 
ceived a orJ'ant for the famous estate of Westover, 
on James River, which was bequeathed at his death 
to his brother, Lord John Powlett, and which sub- 
sequently became the property of Col. William 
Byrd, the author of the Dividing Line. From 
this family is descended Maj. John W. Paulett, 
now a citizen of Nashville, Tennessee. 

On the 30th day of July, 16 19, the Burgesses 
assembled at Jamestown, and representative gov- 
ernment in America was an accomplished fact. 

Let us use our imagination to depict the scene 
in which these actors with simplicity unaffected, 
and with grandeur all unconscious, shaped intu- 
itively and accurately the model of American 
Legislation. 

Says Mr. Henry: "On the memorable morn- 
ing of the 30th of July, 16 19, the Governor went 
in state to the church. He was accompanied by 



15 



the Councillors and officers of the Colony, with 
a guard of Halberdiers dressed in the Governor's 
livery. Behind them walked with becoming dig- 
nity, the twenty-two newly-elected Burgesses." 

" In the contemporaneous account sent to 
England by the Speaker we are told : ' The most 
convenient place we coulde find to sitt in was the 
Quire of the Church, where Sir George Yardley, 
the Governor, being sett down in his accustomed 
place, those of the Counsel! of Estate sate nexte 
him on both handes, except only the Secretary, 
then appointed Speaker, who sate right before 
him. John Twine, Gierke of the General Assem- 
bly, being placed nexte to the Speaker, and Thomas 
Pierse, the Sergeant, standing at the barre, to be 
ready for any service the Assembly should com- 
mand him. But forasmuche as men's affaires doe 
little prosper where God's service is neglected, 
all the Burgesses took their places in the Quire 
till a prayer was said by Mr. Bucke, the minis- 
ter, that it would please God to guide and sancti- 
fie all our proceedings to his owne glory, and 
the good of this plantation. Prayer being ended, 
to the intente that as we had begun at God 
Almighty, so we might proceed with awful and 



16 

due respecte towards the Lieutenant, our most 
gratious and dread soveraigne, all the Burgesses 
were entreated to retyre themselves into the body 
of the Churche, which being done, before they 
were freely admitted, they were called to order 
and by name, and so every man (none stagger- 
inge at it) tooke the oath of Supremacy, and then 
entered the Assembly." 

Let us glance at the Councillors, who sat on 
either side of Governor Yardley. Says Mr. Henry: 
"They were all Englishmen of high type, and 
following ancient customs, they sat with their 
hats on. * * * 

" Amonof them was Sir Francis West, the son 
of Sir Thomas West, the second Lord De La 
Warr. He was subsequently to become Gov- 
ernor of Virginia. He was a direct descendant 
of William the Conqueror. 

"Captain Nathaniel Powell had come to Vir- 
ginia with the first colonists ; had been with New- 
port when he explored York River, and with 
Smith when he explored Chesapeake Bay. He 
was a man of culture, and kept an account of 
occurrences in the Colony, which had been freely 
used by Capt. Smith in his history of Virginia. 



17 

"John Rolfe had come to Virginia with Sir 
Thomas Gates. In 1612, he introduced the sys- 
tematic cuhure of tobacco in Virginia. In 16 14, 
he had married the Princess Pocahontas, whom 
he carried to England in 1616. 

The Rev. WilHam Wickham was of a prom- 
inent family. He added the dignity of the clergy 
to the Assembly in which he sat. 

"Captain Samuel Maycock was a Cambridge 
scholar, and a gentleman of birth, virtue, and 
industry. 

"John Pory, Secretary of the Colony, sat as 
the Speaker of the Burgesses. He had been 
educated at Cambridge, and was an accomplished 
scholar. He was a disciple of the celebrated 
Hackluyt, who left the highest testimonials to 
his learning. Having served in Parliament, he 
was able to give order to their proceedings, and 
proper form to their acts. 

"The Rev. Richard Bucke, the officiating 
minister was educated at Oxford, and was an 
able and learned divine. He married in Virginia, 
was the minister at Jamestown, where in 16 14, 
he performed the marriage ceremony between 
Rolfe and the Indian Princess Pocahontas. The 



18 

church in which the Assembly met had been built 
for him, wholly at the charge of the inhabitants 
of James City." 

The first act of the Burgesses was to purge 
their roll. They excluded the two Burgesses from 
Martin's plantation on the ground that this plan- 
tation, by the terms of its patent, was exempt 
from the general form of government prescribed 
for the Colony, and they petitioned the London 
Company to amend the patent, so that there 
might be no grant whereby "the uniformity and 
equality of lawes and orders extending over the 
whole Colony might be impeached." Says Mr. 
Henry: "Thus early did Virginia insist upon the 
equality of her citizens before the law, a principle 
re-asserted in her Declaration of Right, in 1776, 
when she became a State." 

The next step was to call upon the Speaker 
to read the commission creating the Assembly. 

" He read unto them the commission for estab- 
lishing the Counsell of Estate and the General 
Assembly, wherein their duties were described to 
the life. Having thus prepared them, he read 
over unto them the great Charter or commission 
of priviledges, orders, and lawes, sent by Sir 



19 

George Yardley, out of England." The next 
step was to appoint committees. The. Assembly- 
was then ready for business. 

They adjourned at the end of five days, hav- 
ing transacted a greater amount of business, more 
novel in character, and more far-reaching in effects, 
than has, perhaps, ever been transacted by any 
subsequent Legislature in the same length of time. 

Let us examine some of the features which 
this remarkable Assembly, with no precedent or 
guide, except the experience of their Speaker as 
a member of Parliament, has, spontaneously and 
permanently stamped upon the organization of 
legislative assembhes and the forms of American 
legislation. 

1. The organization, Speaker, Clerk, Sergeant- 
at-Arms. 

2. The opening with prayer. 

3. The swearing in of members. 

4. Purging the roll. 

5. The appointment of committees. 

It is to be regretted that the example of the 
rapid dispatch of business, which was so conspic- 
uously set by this model Assembly, has not like- 
wise descended to posterity. In noting the pro- 



20 

ceedings, one remarkable fact strikes the reader, 
viz : Matters referred to the committees were usu- 
ally reported the next day. 

Six petitions were sent by the Assembly to 
the London Company. These related, for the 
most part, to the allotment, tenure and descent 
of lands, and to regulations for immigration. 
One petition deserves especial notice, being the 
first movement in favor of education in America. 
The Company is entreated, that "towards the 
erecting of the university and college, they will 
sende, when they shall think it most convenient, 
workmen of all sortes, fit for the purpose." The 
plans for the establishment of the " university and 
college " were frustrated by the Indian massacre 
of 1622, but the effort many years later culmi- 
nated in the establishment of William and Mary 
College. 

Next, came the report of the committee to 
whom had been referred "the great Charter of 
lawes, orders, and priviledges," brought by Sir 
George Yardley. This committee had been cau- 
tiously instructed to report whether it contained 
anything "not perfectly squaring with the State 
of the Colony, or any law pressing or binding too 



21 



ha\d, because this great Charter is to bind us 
and our heirs forever." After receiving the report, 
•'there remaining no further scruple in the mindes 
of the Assembly touching the great Charter of 
lawes, orders, and priviledges, the Speaker putt 
the same to question, and so it hath the general 
assent and applause of the whole Assembly." 

Then followed a number of laws of both pub- 
lic and private nature, relating to taxation, agri- 
culture, religion, crimes, misdemeanors, intercourse 
with the Indians, and many other matters. The 
Assembly then sat as a criminal court. 

It would be interesting, did not the Hmits of 
this paper prohibit, to note the quaintness of some 
of these laws, as well as the shrewdness and sagac- 
ity of this primitive legislation. 

I can not forbear to mention three acts which 
bear witness to the foresight of these legislators, 
and the original character of the statutes which 
they crowded into their five days' session, (i) 
They passed a law to provide for taking a cen- 
sus of the inhabitants, this being the first legis- 
lation for a census. (2) They passed laws for 
recording births, marriages, and deaths. (3) They 
passed a law fixing the price of tobacco at three 



22 

shillings a pound for the best, and eighteen pence 
a pound "for the second sort." 

The importance of this last provision will be 
apparent when it is remembered that tobacco was 
the currency of the country, and that fluctuations 
in its value affected our ancestors as disastrously 
as we are now affected by fluctuations in the rel- 
ative value of gold and silver. The committee 
of this model Assembly, however, was able to 
report on the currency question in one day, and 
the Assembly solved the problem on the next. 
The intermeddling of the English government 
with the value of tobacco as a currency, at a later 
date, prompted by the supposed interests of 
English merchants, caused much discontent in the 
Colony, and gave rise to the famous Parson's 
Case, in which the eloquence of the "forest-born 
Demosthenes" first burst into flame. 

The Assembly closed its labors with a peti- 
tion to the London Company to amend the " Great 
Charter of lawes, orders, and priviledges" by 
confirming a grant which the charter merely held 
out as a promise for the future. I quote the 
words of the petition : 

"Their last humble suite is, that the said 



23 



Counsell and Company would be pleased, so soon 
as they shall finde it convenient, to make good 
their promise sett down at the conclusion of their 
commission for establishing the Counsell of Estate 
and the Generall Assembly, namely, that they will 
crive us power to allowe or disallowe of their 
orders of courts, as his Majesty hath given them 
power to allowe or reject our lawes." 

This petition has been styled "The First Dec- 
laration of Independence." It is not, however, a 
declaration. It is a petition for independence. 
Its language is not defiant and assertive, like the 
famous declaration of 1776; yet, it evinces, in the 
weakness of infancy, the same spirit, which strength- 
ened with the growth of the Colony; which, in 
1676, blazed out in Bacon's Rebellion; which 
found stern utterance in the resolutions of 1765: 
^'Resolved, That the General Assembly of this 
Colony have the sole right and power to lay taxes 
and impositions upon the inhabitants of this Col- 
ony ; and that any attempt to vest such power in 
any person or persons, whatsoever, other than the 
General Assembly aforesaid, has a manifest ten- 
dency to destroy British, as well as American 
freedom." 



24 

This sentiment found its grandest expression 
in the words spoken before a Virginia Conven- 
tion, in 1775 : " Give me liberty or give me death" — 
words second in subHmity only to the divine fiat, 
"Let there be light"; and which reached its cul- 
mination in 1776, when a Virginia delegate moved : 
"These united colonies are, and of right ought 
to be, free and independent States," and a Vir- 
ginia statesman penned the immortal Declaration. 

The limits of this paper will not permit me 
to trace in detail the subsequent history of those 
connected with this first Legislative Assembly in 
America. The petition of the House of Burgesses 
was granted by the London Company. On the 
24th of July, 162 1, the Company amended its pre- 
vious liberal grants of power to the colonists by 
formulating a written constitution, embracing 
nearly all the features contained in the several 
petitions of the House of Burgesses, and espe- 
cially the feature granting the Burgesses a veto 
on the orders of the Company. The following 
quotation from Bancroft sketches the provisions 
of this constitution : 

"Its terms were few and simple; a Governor, 
to be appointed by the Company; a permanent 



25 

Council, likewise to be appointed by the Company ; 
a General Assembly, to be convened yearly and 
to consist of the members of the Council and of 
two Burgesses to be chosen from each of the 
several plantations by the respective inhabitants. 
The Assembly might exercise full legislative au- 
thority, a negative voice being reserved to the 
Governor ; but no law or ordinance would be valid 
unless ratified by the Company in England. It 
was further agreed that after government of the 
Colony should have once been framed, no orders 
from the Court in London should bind the Col- 
ony, unless they should in like manner be ratified 
by the General Assembly." 

These concessions show the complete ascen- 
dency of the Virginia party in the London Com- 
pany. This liberal policy continued during the 
existence of the Company, but the time of reac- 
tion was at hand. 

James L began to awaken to the significance 
of these proceedings. He recalled the words of 
the Spanish minister, and repented of his acqui- 
escence in the new colonial policy. The fever of 
a tyrant's hatred began to burn in his veins 
against the London Company. He called to his 



26 



councils the former President, Sir Thomas Smith, 
and the rapacious Capt. Samuel Argall, on the 
latter of whom he conferred the honor of knight- 
hood. Lending a ready ear to these malcontents, 
he entered upon a crusade against the leaders of 
the Virginia party. 

His active hostility forced Sir Edwin Sandys 
from office, and finally caused his imprisonment. 
George Sandys was elected by the Company to 
succeed his brother. Sir Edwin. Later, the office 
devolved upon the Earl of Southampton. Yard- 
ley was forced by ill health and the hostility of 
the King to decline re-election. At a meeting of 
the Company held January 29, 162 1, the Earl of 
Southampton stated that "he had received adver- 
tisement of Sir George Yardley's importuning 
desire to relinquish his said office at the expira- 
tion of his said commission." He accordingly 
nominated Sir Francis Wyatt to succeed him. 
The Court took time to consider the matter, and 
at its next session elected Sir Francis Wyatt as 
Governor-General of Virginia. 

The hostility of James, however, did not drive 
the Company from its liberal policy. They pro- 
ceeded to enact the written constitution above 



27 

recited, and sent it to the Colony by the new 
governor, Sir Francis Wyatt. The persistence 
of the Company in this Hberal policy so exas- 
perated James that he demanded the surrender of 
the charter, to which demand the Company re- 
turned a dignified refusal. The King then pro- 
ceeded by judicial process. On the i6th day of 
June, 1624, the Court of King's Bench, whose 
judges sat at the royal pleasure, pronounced judg- 
ment against the Company, and its Charter was 
declared "forfeited." 

The dissolution of the London Company seri- 
ously endangered the liberties of Virginia. The 
Company had been an anomaly in government. 
It had been an intermediate link between the 
King and the Colony. Under the control of the 
Virginia party, it served the purpose of substitut- 
ing the public sentiment of the English people 
in place of royal despotism in the colonial policy 
of England. It had acted a noble and patriotic 
part. It had confirmed to the Colony the price- 
less and irrevocable gift of representative govern- 
ment, and had given to the English people a 
lesson and an example. Its dissolution left the 
people of England to profit by the lesson, and the 



28 

people of Virginia to guard the gift. How well 
the English people learned the lesson may be 
read in the history of the Stuarts. The sagacity, 
firmness, and boldness with which the Virginians 
guarded the gift, excites the admiration and grat- 
itude of posterity. 

The temper of the colonists was subjected to 
an immediate test. The crafty King had sent a 
commission to Virginia, consisting of Sir John 
Harvey, afterwards a royal governor, Mr. Samuel 
Matthews and John Pory. It is to be regretted 
that the name of John Pory is found in such com- 
pany, for he had been Secretary of the Colony 
under Yardley, and the ex-officio Speaker of the 
first Assembly. He had now been brought over 
to the royal interest. These commissioners were 
sent to investigate the condition of the Colony. 
They had, also, a secret mission. They were 
instructed to procure by promises, threats or ar- 
tifice, from the House of Burgesses an expression 
of approval of the King's policy, a petition for 
the dissolution of the London Company, and a 
surrender of the Yardley charter and the subse- 
quent constitution. 

The commissioners found to their surprise and 



29 

•chagrin, that the colonists were too firm and wary 
to be cajoled. Instead of the compliance expected 
of them, the House of Burgesses sent by a mes- 
senger of their own a protest against the pro- 
ceedings of the King, a defense of the London 
Company, and a refusal to surrender either the 
Yardley charter or the constitution. 

The King now entered upon the task of fram- 
ing a system of government for Virginia, in accor- 
dance with the purpose which he had previously 
announced to Parliament, as follows: "That he 
would hereafter take the affairs of the Virginia 
Company into his own serious consideration and 
care ; and that, by the next Parliament, they 
would all see that he would make it one of his 
masterpieces."' Death, however, interrupted his 
plans, and spoiled the '' masterpiece ^ 

When Charles I. ascended the throne of his 
father, March 27, 1625, he manifested indifference 
to the political questions relating to Virginia, and 
seemed to be interested only in measures of secur- 
ing a revenue from the industries of the colonists. 
He seemed not to comprehend the principles 
involved in the contest, and showed some desire 
for popularity. 



30 

Now came the second triumph of the "Father 
of Representative Government" in America. Sir 
George Yardley was recalled from retirement, 
and as a love-offering from the King to the col- 
onists, he was appointed Governor-General of 
Virginia. His commission was dated April 19, 
1626, being the seventh anniversary of his former 
entrance upon office. This commission conferred 
on him the unusual power of filling by his own 
appointment, all vacancies existing in the " Coun- 
sell of Estate." He entered upon the duties 
May 17, 1626, and continued in office until his 
death. The early historians who recorded the 
events of this period did not seem to compre- 
hend the significance of the "First Legislative 
Assembly." They ignored the important part 
taken by Yardley, and the love which was felt 
to him by the colonists. Posterity sympathizes 
with the colonists, and accords to Yardley his 
rightful place in history. 

We close this sketch with a quotation from 
Bancroft : " The re-appointment of Yardley was in 
itself a guarantee that representative government 
would be maintained ; for it was Yardley who had 
introduced the system. 



31 

" Virg-inia rose rapidly in public esteem ; in 
1627 a thousand immigrants arrived, and there 
was an increasing demand upon the products of 
the soil. 

"In November, 1627, the career of Yardley 
was closed by death. The colonists in a letter 
to the privy council, gave a eulogy on his virtues. 
Posterity retains a grateful recollection of the 
man who first convened a representative assem- 
bly in the Western Hemisphere." 

W. R. Garrett. 

Peabody Normal College, Nashville, Tenn. 



%^ 



